She’d been disappointed when shortly after they arrived at Wyatt’s ranch, Nash and Jericho had gone up into the mountains to mine gold like so many other men, lured by the prospect of getting rich.

They’d only lasted a year before they returned to South Park completely broke, hungry, and in need of work. When Nash had taken over running Flynn’s place while he’d gone east to track down Brody after the war ended, she made up excuses to visit Jericho and work alongside him.

But by that point, the camaraderie from their trip was long gone. Jericho considered himself too grown-up to associate with her. After he took the foreman job at Elkhorn Ranch shortly after Nash’s accident, he snubbed her even more.

As much as her attraction to him was still very much alive and well—even after all she’d done to forget about him—she had to keep those feelings cinched up and on a short rope. She’d already let him trample her heart once. And she couldn’t throw her love out there only to have him stomp all over it again.

Chapter
4

“Look what the cat dragged in,” Ivy called out as she entered through the front door of Wyatt’s house.

Jericho hesitated at the threshold. He wasn’t sure he’d be welcome among the McQuaids after riding off with Dylan the way he had without a word all this time. But even if they were upset with him for the silence, he owed them an update on their brother—at least as much of an update as he could afford without ruining his cover.

The front room was brightly lit and a hub of activity like it had always been whenever he’d visited. The log walls belonged to the original cabin Wyatt had built, which he’d added to over the years. A table took up the center of the room, the benches on either side filled with Wyatt’s family finishing a late supper.

How many children did Wyatt have now? Jericho counted three little heads. From the way Greta’s abdomen rounded out beneath her apron, he guessed another child would soon join the household. Greta’s sister, Astrid, was also at the table. A few years younger than Ivy, Astrid had become a good friend to her. Yet, it’d always been a sore spot of his that Ivy hadn’t made more female friends and instead gravitated toward the men.

From the end of the table, Wyatt’s eyes locked on him and filled with recognition. “Jericho Bliss.” Wyatt stood. “It’s been a long time.”